WWE 2K16: Roster Review and Details of New Online Options

You may or may not have heard, but the roster for the upcoming WWE 2K16 game is the largest in the history of WWE games. The game shipped with more than 120 playable Superstars and Divas, and even more will be available via downloadable content after the game's Tuesday, October 27, release.

There will be a rollout of new DLC each month beginning in November and running into March 2016, per WWE.2K.com.

Here's a look at the retail roster in alphabetical order with their overall ratings, per TheSmackDownHotel.com:

• "Adam Rose (82)"

• "Aiden English (80)"

• "Alicia Fox (78)"

• "Andre The Giant (89)"

• "Bad News Barrett (86)"

• "Bam Bam Bigelow (87)"

• "Baron Corbin (81)"

• "Batista (89)"

• "Big E (85)"

• "Big Show (91)"

• "Billy Gunn (85)"

• "Bo Dallas (83)"

• "Booker T (89)"

• "Bray Wyatt (87)"

• "Bret Hart (90)"

• "Brian Pillman (85)"

• "Brie Bella (79)"

• "British Bulldog (84)"

• "Brock Lesnar (94)"

• "Cactus Jack (87)"

• "Cameron (73)"

• "Cesaro (88)"

• "Chris Jericho (86)"

• "Chris Jericho '01 (88)"

• "Christian (86)"

• "Colin Cassady (82)"

• "Colonel Mustafa (80)"

• "Curtis Axel (83)"

• "D'Lo Brown (83)"

• "Damien Mizdow (84)"

• "Daniel Bryan (92)"

• "Darren Young (86)"

• "Dean Ambrose (89)"

• "Diamond Dallas Page (87)"

• "Dolph Ziggler (86)"

• "Dude Love (84)"

• "Edge (88)"

• "Emma (80)"

• "Enzo Amore (80)"

• "Erick Rowan (85)"

• "Eva Marie (77)"

• "Faarooq (85)"

• "Fandango (84)"

• "Finn Balor (88)"

• "Fit Finlay (86)"

• "General Adnan (77)"

• "Goldust (86)"

• "Haku (84)"

• "Heath Slater (78)"

• "Hideo Itami (85)"

• "Honky Tonk Man (78)"

• "Hunter Hearst Helmsley (83)"

• "Jack Swagger (85)"

• "Jake Roberts (82)"

• "JBL (87)"

• "Jey Uso (83)"

• "Jim Neidhart (85)"

• "Jimmy Uso (83)"

• "John Cena (95)"

• "Kalisto (83)"

• "Kama Mustafa (84)"

• "Kane (86)"

• "Kane '01 (87)"

• "Ken Shamrock (84)"

• "Kevin Nash (89)"

• "Kevin Owens (91)"

• "Kofi Kingston (84)"

• "Konnor (82)"

• "Layla (74)"

• "Lex Luger (87)"

• "Lord Steven Regal (87)"

• "Luke Harper (86)"

• "Mankind (86)"

• "Mark Henry (86)"

• "Mark Henry '98 (85)"

• "Mikey Whipwreck (85)"

• "The Miz (84)"

• "Mr. McMahon '98 (84)"

• "Naomi (79)"

• "Natalya (81)"

• "Neville (86)"

• "Nikki Bella (82)"

• "Paige (83)"

• "Paul Wight (85)"

• "R-Truth (83)"

• "Randy Orton (91)"

• "Randy Savage (90)"

• "Ric Flair (89)"

• "Rick Rude (82)"

• "Ricky Steamboat (86)"

• "Rikishi (86)"

• "The Rock (91)"

• "The Rock '03 (91)"

• "Roman Reigns (90)"

• "Rusev (88)"

• "Ryback (86)"

• "Sami Zayn (87)"

• "Santino Marella (80)"

• "Savio Vega (80)"

• "Seth Rollins (92)"

• "Sgt. Slaughter (80)"

• "Shane McMahon (83)"

• "Shawn Michaels (91)"

• "Sheamus (90)"

• "Simon Gotch (80)"

• "Sin Cara (84)"

• "Stardust (86)"

• "Stephanie McMahon (83)"

• "Sting (89)"

• "Sting '91 (92)"

• "Sting '99 (92)"

• "Stone Cold Steve Austin (94)"

• "Stone Cold Steve Austin '03 (89)"

• "Stone Cold Steve Austin '97 (90)"

• "Stunning Steve Austin (85)"

• "Summer Rae (74)"

• "Superstar Steve Austin (87)"

• "Tamina (77)"

• "Titus O'Neil (87)"

• "Triple H (91)"

• "Triple H '01 (91)"

• "Tyler Breeze (83)"

• "Tyson Kidd (84)"

• "Ultimate Warrior (90)"

• "The Undertaker (91)"

• "The Undertaker '01 (92)"

• "The Undertaker '99 (90)"

• "Vader (88)"

• "Viktor (82)"

• "William Regal (86)"

• "X-Pac (84)"

• "Xavier Woods (83)"

• "Zack Ryder (81)"

That list is pretty impressive. Some fans may not choose to subscribe to the Season Pass DLC, so this could be where their WWE 2K16 roster begins and ends. If that's the case, you'd still have to rate the roster an A- as it stands.

The one thing you want to see with a WWE 2K roster is balance. There should be a good number of legends, current Superstars, Divas and up-and-comers. The retail roster has that quality with NXT, current-day WWE and previous eras properly represented.

The DLC

If you're all in and you subscribe to the Season Pass, a good roster becomes a great one. Take a look at the Superstars and matches that will become available to you in the game:

Legends Pack

• Big Boss Man
• Dusty Rhodes
• Lita
• Mr. Perfect
• “Rowdy” Roddy Piper
• Trish Stratus

Hall of Fame Showcase

• “Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts
• Rikishi vs. The Rock
• Alundra Blayze vs. Paige
• Larry Zbyszko and Arn Anderson vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and Dustin Rhodes
• Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Ric Flair
• The Bushwhackers (Butch Miller and Luke  Williams) vs. The Natural Disasters (Typhoon and Earthquake)
• The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) vs. Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray)

NXT Future Stars Pack

• Samoa Joe
• Murphy
• Blake
• Diego
• Fernando

Those new options still leave out guys like Kurt Angle, Goldberg and even current Divas like Charlotte and Sasha Banks, but those gaps can easily be filled by the game's stellar Create-A-Superstar/Diva tool. Most years, this is a strength of the game, but this year the creation suite has more options than before. Take a look at the trailer:

Because the ability to create and share with the WWE 2K community returns via Community Creations, don't expect to miss any of the omissions too much.

Online Play

Playing online is often a sore spot for WWE 2K games—and 2K Sports titles on a whole. However, the recently released NBA 2K16 had the best online functionality the series has seen in years, and recent news about WWE 2K's options in this area have us excited. Take a look at the trailer:

Warming up while you're waiting on opponents is a smart addition, as it will keep you busy while you endure what is hopefully a short wait before the real action begins.

It's also great to see tag team action in online play. This could create a whole new dynamic in competitive WWE 2K gameplay. Gamers might actually be encouraged to increase their level of teamwork, which is something that hasn't really been compelling in the past.

Let's hope that these concepts and the performance of the game's online modes hold up after the servers have taken on a full load.

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